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The next day, Ellie hit the ground running. She marched into Freshfields like a lioness: proud, regal, and on the hunt. From the moment she clocked in, she was alert for anything out of the ordinary from Jae-Sun or any of his lackeys from the car park the night before. Before she’d reached her scanner, she’d spotted Jae-Sun in the manager’s office, exchanging secretive words with Aoife. The two of them spotted her and ceased their chatter until she was out of sight. To her surprise, she hadn’t found the experience of seeing him as soul-crushing as she’d expected. She couldn’t possibly, not now she was onto him. Her soul was now driven by the mission to find out what he and his friends were up to, and what link, if any, they had to the disappearances in the store. Her first stop had been the duty rota, held in a plastic wallet on the warehouse wall. She removed the document and perused it for the working hours of each person she’d seen in the smoking shelter. It didn’t take her long to find exactly what she wanted: Xana, Olivia, Aoife and Jae-Sun were in from now until five, and Charles started in the afternoon. Perfect, thought Ellie. Time to get to the bottom of all this… Xana was the first target on Ellie’s list. On her way out of the warehouse, she opened the door to the bakery and peeked inside. She found Xana was skulking around shiftily, rooting through boxes and checking in cupboards, all the while keeping an eye out for Habib on the shop floor, who was busy filling the shelves. Becoming increasingly frustrated, she began banging and clattering around, desperate to find something in and amongst the bakery’s oldest and disused cupboards. Ellie’s heart leapt out of her chest as all of a sudden Xana spun around, looking in the direction of the door. Ellie let go immediately, and sped off with her trolley in tow, racing onto the shop floor to her aisle to avoid suspicion. Well that’s one of them definitely up to something. Now what about the others… Ellie next saw Aoife messing with a scanner in the corner of an aisle; the second time in a week, she noted. Ellie finished showing her customer where the DymahCorp range could be found, and doubled back to catch another glimpse. The messy-haired woman had the scanner hooked up to her phone via a long black cable. Tapping away at her phone, she took periodic glances back at the scanner, often swearing when she didn’t get the answer she was looking for. Seeing an opportunity, Ellie entered the adjacent aisle, exiting at the other end so she could catch a look at Aoife’s phone screen. The text was small, and Ellie had to squint to see much of anything, but what she did spy on her screen was some form of coding software: long lines of numbers and letters set out in an order indecipherable to anyone without the proper knowledge. Disgruntled, Ellie turned away. She’d left her trolley for far too long, and her SPIMS score wouldn’t be happy. Ellie caught up with Olivia on her lunch break. Of all of them, she found Olivia to be the least threatening. Selecting a ready meal for her lunch, she proceeded to Olivia’s checkout, and listened intently to the conversation she was having with the builder being served in front of her. “So he’s gone missing too?” asked Olivia. “Yeah,” said the builder. “He came in here for his lunch on Tuesday and we haven’t seen him since. It’s thrown us right behind on our job — we were meant to be finished by Christmas!” “What makes you think he went missing here?” said Olivia, passing a sandwich through the till scanner and into the man’s carrier bag. “His van’s still in the car park,” the builder replied. “It’s got a parking ticket on it now. Ben loved that van, there’s no way in the world he’d leave it anywhere.” “I’m sorry,” said Olivia, as the builder paid for the shopping with his card. “See you later.” Taken aback by the unusually abrupt farewell, the builder took his carrier bag and walked away, casting a single look of confusion back at the pale checkout girl. “Someone else gone missing then?” Ellie asked as she handed her meal over. Olivia looked stunned,unsure of what to say. “Have you had a nice day?” she asked. “Until I heard someone had gone missing again,” Ellie replied. “How many is that now?” “Seventeen,” said Olivia, before backtracking. “That’s what that man I was just serving told me!” “And the police aren’t anywhere to be seen,” Ellie commented. “Do you know why that is?” “No,” said Olivia, handing back her ready meal. “See you later.” “So what are you lot up to, then?” It was the first thing she’d said to Charles when his shift started. She’d accosted him the moment he entered the warehouse and began searching for a scanner amongst the shelves. “What are you talking about?” he asked, as if prepared for her question. “I know you’re all up to something in this store,” said Ellie. “You, Xana, Aoife, Olivia and Jae-Sun.” “The people who started the same day as me?” Charles asked incredulously. “I barely know them.” “Drop the act,” said Ellie. “I’ve seen you… doing things.” Charles turned his attention back to the shelf and reached behind some boxes for a scanner. “We’ve become friends,” he said by way of an explanation. “Pretty good friends by the look of it, meeting up in the car park after hours.” “Yep.” “Because you all started working here at the same time?” “Yep.” “Who all have jobs in different areas of the store, who wouldn't otherwise interact.” “...yep.” “So what made you so close all of a sudden?” Charles logged into his scanner and began picking items for his trolley. “Your SPIMS score won’t be happy if you spend so much time talking to me.” “Then give me some answers,” Ellie demanded. “Of all of you newbies, I’ve gotten to know you the best, and I don’t like being lied to. It was bad enough when I put my heart on the line…” Charles shot her a hurtful look. To all intents and purposes, it looked like it was really hurting him to withhold the truth from her, but he wasn’t willing to budge any time soon. “I’m really sorry, Ellie, I don’t know what you think is going on, but I have no answers to give you. Can I carry on picking my trolley now?” Ellie felt a surge of emotion begin to build inside her. The pressure climbed, and she feared berating Charles with a burst of anger, or flooding him with her tears. In the end, neither happened. Ultimately, Charles was right. She wasn’t here to investigate the shady happenings of a few newbies. She was here to do her job: stock the shop floor, earn some money, and go home. Dejectedly, Ellie, scanner in hand, walked back across the warehouse, and began picking her next trolley, questioning what had started this crusade she had embarked on. It had all started on her date with Jae-Sun. He clearly wasn’t as interested in her as she’d hoped, and instead of handling the rejection with a glass of wine and moving on, she’d turned on him, seeing him and his group of friends as villains. What proof did she have other than a snatch of out of context interactions and conversations? To accuse them of something untoward, did that make her the villain? Her spiralling thoughts ended with the ping of her scanner: she’d picked the last item for her trolley. She grabbed the handle to take it onto the shop floor and faltered. She felt like crying, and the last thing she needed was Carol seeing her at her lowest. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She wouldn’t normally check it while working, but for Ellie, today was no normal day. The notification was a text from Maddy: “Always here if you need a chat.” If she could, Ellie would have left then and there for a much needed catch up with her bestie, but she still had a few hours to go. She unlocked her phone and typed a quick message back to Maddy, arranging a meetup as soon as possible, before slipping it back into her pocket. Grasping the handle of her trolley, she set it in motion when her scanner pinged once more. Ice lolly 6 pack requires immediate restock. Ellie looked at the screen in confusion. “Freezer food isn’t my department…” she mumbled. Well, she resolved, to quote Gary Wheeler, “Whatever SPIMS wants, SPIMS gets.” Ellie dragged her trolley back across the warehouse, past the long aisles of shelf racking, to the large, heavy metal door of the store’s back of house freezer. Leaving her trolley behind, she marched over to the long steel lever and pulled with both hands. The metal door rolled aside and an icy wind greeted her. Ellie instinctively shivered, and lifted an insulated jacket from a hook on the wall. Even with protective clothing, she grimaced as she stepped inside. The sub-zero temperatures surrounded her like a pack of wolves, biting at her with savage intent. She needed to get out of here as soon as possible, but didn’t know where to start. It had been months, perhaps over a year since she’d last been in here, and she barely knew the layout then. “It’ll take me ages to find ice lollies in here,” she groaned. She heard a grumble of metal behind her. The door closed shut. Ellie gasped in horror, sucking in frosty air. Her scanner flew out of her hand as panic drove her to the only exit. She pulled at the internal lever, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn’t budge. Her heart beat faster, offering her body a temperature boost, but if she didn’t find a way out soon, it wouldn’t last. A crackle from somewhere amongst the stock caught her attention. Ellie turned to see her scanner resting on a frost-covered cardboard box, sparks emitting from the seams at its edging. This lasted for several seconds, before a larger hiss of sparks burst from the casing. Ellie stepped as far back as she could manage, watching as the charge emitting from the scanner had now burned through the box it was resting on, and had scorched several more in the nearby vicinity. The sparks reached crescendo, encompassing everything in a metre radius, before coming to an abrupt halt. The scanner, having burned through all of the boxes — and stock — within its vicinity, now rested on the cold, concrete floor, depleted and dead. Ellie stood for a few moments in shock, attempting to process what had happened, until the abrupt activation of the freezer’s cooling fans tore her from her thoughts. The air soon whipped up into something akin to a hurricane; Ellie’s hair blew into her eyes making it hard for her to see. She struggled to move, pushed against the wall by the force of the wind, to the point she felt the skin on her face begin to ripple. “Help!” she attempted to call, but whether the words escaped her lips amongst the chug of the fans and the power of the wind, she would never know. Ellie fell to her knees, curling into a ball. The thick insulation of her freezer jacket offered some protection against the onslaught, but even so strong drafts billowed their way through whichever cracks and crevices they could find. She began to wonder if whatever this was — malfunction or otherwise — would be the end of her. From what happened with the scanner, she was lucky she wasn’t a goner already. Amidst the gale force blasts whipping about her, Ellie thought that she could hear — no, feel, something; a vibration, rhythmic and panicked, like the sound of drums. She soon realised it was someone on the other side of the freezer door, attempting to reach her. Ellie called out to them, but again her voice was lost in the frenzied air. Would they reach her in time? Her extremities had long since gone numb, and her frantic heart was trying its best, but with the frantic winds whistling around her, it was getting harder to breathe. By the time the door did open, Ellie barely registered it. Voices surrounded her, but the meaning of their words was lost against the throbbing in her ears. Her vision was fading, and with it any grasp she held on reality. Next Aisle: Chapter 10
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When Ellie woke, she was in a coffee shop. How she knew that was anyone’s guess, given her eyes took a while to adjust to the bright lights, and every noise about her seemed muffled. Then she smelled that familiar aroma, and her other senses soon followed suit. She was lying across a booth, her freezer jacket still wrapped about her, and a wooly hat pressed over her head. Across from her on the table were Charles, Aoife, Olivia, Xana, and Jae-Sun. Each of them looked concerned, as if visiting a relative on Death’s door. “I know it’s cold out there,” said a barista holding a tray of hot drinks, “but she looks beyond freezing. Do you want me to call an ambulance?” “That won’t be necessary,” said Charles with a dismissive wave of his hand. “She’s more than in safe hands with us.” The barista didn’t look convinced, but nevertheless handed out their drinks and returned to the counter. Ellie slowly pushed herself up into a seating position. Her muscles felt drained to the point of exhaustion, just like they had when she’d run the Yorkshire Marathon. This time, however, no charitable cause, or anyone for that matter, had benefitted. “What the hell happened?” Ellie asked, her words slightly slurred. Charles pushed a mug over to her. “Drink this.” He gestured to the cup. “It’s hot chocolate.” Ellie eyed the cup with suspicion. Despite claiming to have only met earlier in the week, these five seemed quite the closely-knit group. “I wasn’t sure whether you were a tea or a coffee person, so I thought hot chocolate might be a safer bet. Besides, you could probably do with a hit of sugar.” “Pack it in, will ye?” said Aoife. “The poor girl’s in shock; she hardly needs mithering. Let her drink.” Ellie looked around. The place was packed with people, so it didn’t seem likely that the group would attempt anything untoward like poisoning her. She took the beverage with shaky hands and brought it up to her face so she could sniff the steam. The warm scent of the contents awoke something in her, and the wooziness she had felt since she’d awoken began to shift. Taking a few sips, she placed the mug back down, feeling much more herself. “What happened to me in that freezer?” Ellie asked. “You narrowly avoided being next on the missing persons list,” said Jae-Sun. “Your stocking scanner triggered a charge so powerful it should have disintegrated you,” said Aoife. “I’m not quite sure how you escaped that one,” said Xana. “You reckon she’s part Diashna or something?” “She’s as human as they come,” Charles reassured them. “I wasn’t holding my scanner,” Ellie recalled. “I accidently threw it when the door closed behind me,” she explained. “That reaction saved your life,” said Charles with a wide smile. Ellie’s mind was reeling, trying to put the pieces together. “But why me? And how did you know I was in there?” “I managed to hack into the SPIMS system,” said Aoife. “Your score had dropped into the danger zone. We tracked your scanner’s last known location to the freezer, and that’s where we found you.” “It only dropped because I was spending my time working out what you lot were up to!” Ellie exclaimed. “You’re lucky you were on the SPIMS hitlist when you were,” said Aoife. “It’s since shut me out again.” Ellie now had an explanation for what Aoife was doing with that scanner, but there was still much she didn’t understand. “Hold on, so what are you saying; the disappearances are linked to people with low SPIMS scores?” “When it comes to staff disappearances, yes,” said Charles. He held out his hand and Olivia handed him a sheet of paper. “This is a list of SPIMS scores Aoife managed to obtain.” He passed it across to her. “Do you recognise any of the names?” Ellie looked down at the paper, and was horrified by what she read. Evan Waterhouse, Gemma Lewis, Pat Mullins… some of the people on the list Ellie hadn’t even realised were among the missing — she had assumed they’d just left. The name that stuck out the most was Jackie Taylor. For once I wish the rumours would have just been true… “All of them,” she whispered. “And this was all because of the scanners? This is horrible…” “Exactly,” said Xana. “Which is why we’re here to put a stop to what’s going on before anyone else goes missing.” “But,” said Ellie, shaking her head, “this is crazy! The missing people can’t have just been… What did you say? Disintegrated? Surely that would leave something behind for the police to follow.” She paused. “Hold on, why aren’t the police investigating this?” “We have some friends on the Force,” said Charles. “And you’re right about the remains: ordinarily there would be a trail to follow. It seems SPIMS is using the store’s ventilation system to cover up what remains of those that are killed.” Ellie shuddered as she experienced flashbacks of her time in the freezer, and gasped as she remembered the strength of the air conditioning in the holding room where the shoplifter was held. “Hold on,” said Ellie. “If staff are going missing for their low SPIMS scores, what about the customers?” Jae-Sun answered: “The best we can tell is that they’ve done something to damage store performance, like the case of our shoplifter. For one woman’s disappearance, the best we can tell is that she was talking to Evan Peters too much.” Ellie clamped her eyes shut. “This is insane!” she exclaimed. “You can’t be serious!” “We’re not serious,” said Olivia. “We’re SIGNET.” SIGNET. Somehow the name sounded familiar. “Tell me where I’ve heard that name before.” “We’re an investigative group tasked with solving the weird and mysterious,” said Aoife. “And sometimes aliens,” added Olivia. “We weren’t going to mention that part,” chided Jae-Sun. “Are aliens behind the SPIMS program?” Ellie asked. Charles laughed. “Not so far as we can tell, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone behind it.” “Who?” asked Ellie. All of a sudden she felt like she’d stumbled into the plot of a Professor X novel. “We have our suspicions,” said Aoife. “Gary Wheeler’s management of the system places him at the top of the list.” “I think he’s too nice for all that,” said Olivia. “Gary?” said Ellie in disbelief. “He’s far too nice to have killed people.” “Regardless of our opinions on the man, he’s the logical next step to finding out what’s happening at Freshfields.” Charles drained the remainder of his coffee in one large gulp. “We need to plan our next move.” “I can go in and talk to him,” said Ellie. She checked the time on her phone; there was still an hour left of her shift. “You can’t go back into work, not now,” Charles said sharply. “What do you mean?” Ellie could see her life begin to crumble before her eyes. “I have bills to pay!” “You won’t be paying them if you’re dead,” said Xana. “SPIMS is onto you,” explained Jae-Sun. “We can’t risk you stepping anywhere near that store until this is over.” “So what, I’m supposed to call in sick for the next week?” The thought alone made Ellie feel queasy. The last time she had called in sick was five years ago, after a particularly nasty stomach bug had left her bedridden. She’d spent the entire day feeling like she’d her colleagues down, so much so that the next day, feeling only slightly better, she had forced herself through her shift, snot and all. This time, even that option was denied to her. “That’s the least of your troubles if SPIMS wants you dead,” said Xana. “So how do we talk to Gary without entering the store?” asked Ellie. She reasoned that if there was no chance of going back to work until this was over, playing her part was her only move. “Don’t you worry,” said Charles with a wry smile. “We have a plan for that.” Next Aisle: Chapter 11Later that evening, Ellie sat in the back of an old transit van, kitted out with seats and storage spaces above. The van was parked in Freshfields’ car park. Olivia sat in the front with Xana and Jae-Sun, leaving Ellie with Aoife and Charles in the back. They had sat in silence for some time. Ellie twiddled her thumbs, and tried to keep her thoughts from straying into the dangerous realm of absolute panic and turmoil. She still really had no idea whether she trusted the people from SIGNET, but the more she thought over the events from the freezer, the more she realised that without them she would be little more than a pile of ash in the air conditioning system. “So we’re just going to hang out in the car park all night?” Ellie asked, less calmly than she’d hoped. Waiting around wasn’t her jam, and never had been. She was practical, hands on. That’s why working at Freshfields was such a good fit for her. Charles checked his watch. “Gary should finish his shift any minute now.” He shuffled up to the glass separating the cab from the rest of the van and rapped his knuckles upon it. Like a well-oiled machine, Xana and Jae-Sun opened the doors and stepped out. All went quiet inside the van once more. Ellie shuffled uncomfortably. She felt as though, if she were not with them, the others would be making small talk or sharing jokes. Her presence made them wary, and she didn’t know why. “It’s bugged me,” Ellie began, and felt Charles and Aoife’s gaze upon her. “I’ve worked with you since you started, Charles. Why didn’t you tell me anything about this before now? Didn’t you trust me?” Charles looked hurt at the suggestion. “We didn’t want you to get hurt,” he said. Ellie should have felt reassured by this, but instead felt even further pushed out. There was the sound of a scuffle outside; a raised voice, soon muffled. A bang against the van’s side hinted at a continued struggle. Soon after, the van door slid open, and Gary was hurled inside by Xana and Jae-Sun, who hopped in after him. Ellie gasped. “You didn’t have to gag him!” She dropped to his side and removed the rag of cloth that had been stuffed in his mouth. “HELP!” he screamed. Xana promptly snatched the rag from Ellie and stuffed it back in his mouth. “He’s not quite ready to talk yet,” she summarised. “Are you surprised? You’ve essentially kidnapped him!” Ellie rubbed Gary’s writhing arm gently. “Gary, it’s Ellie. Please don’t panic. No one’s here to hurt you.” Gary rolled around to look at her. His rapid, unblinking eyes studied her face, confused and panicked. Ellie smiled to reassure him, and slowly he began to unstiffen and relax. “We just want to ask you about the SPIMS program,” Ellie explained, in soft, nurturing tones. She waited a few moments, then asked, “Is it okay for me to remove the gag now?” Xana stiffened, as if she was about to intervene, but Charles held her back. Slowly, Gary nodded, and Ellie’s heart went out to him as she noticed a single tear slide down his cheek. Gently, she pulled the damp rag from his mouth, and a deep gasp followed. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he spluttered, snot and tears spilling from his face. “Gary, it’s okay,” Ellie reassured him. “We only want to ask some questions.” “It was all me!” he continued, irrespective of her reassurance. “What do you mean, Gary?” asked Charles, concerned. “SPIMS,” he said. “I did it. I changed the program!” Ellie and the SIGNET team exchanged glances. “But I didn’t mean for it to hurt anyone,” he added quickly. “All I wanted was to outperform the other supermarkets.” He started to sob. Charles waved a hand. “Gary, slow down. Go back to SPIMS. What did you do to the program?” Gary sniffed loudly. “It was after the yearly shareholder meeting,” he explained. “Company sales are down, and we need to compete with the budget supermarkets. I remembered that when they installed SPIMS in the store, there were all these dials and switches on the mainframe box. The engineer said they were there to set the baseline for the software’s AI to work from. I thought that if I tweaked a few of the dials to make the system more sensitive, then it would help to boost our profits this Christmas.” He paused for a moment to organise his inner turmoil. “I wanted to avoid head office causing redundancies, but then people started to disappear, and everything got out of control.” “You can say that again,” muttered Jae-Sun. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” asked Aoife. “Or at least try to change the system back?” “I did,” Gary protested. “You have to believe me. The moment Jackie disappeared in the middle of a shift, I knew SPIMS must be behind it — her scores were the lowest in the store. I went straight back to the mainframe and changed the dials back, but it didn’t do anything. The damage was done, and SPIMS has been acting on its own ever since. How could I tell anyone about it, let alone the authorities? I’d be arrested, or worse, committed!” “But people are dying,” said Ellie. “Today it was almost me!” From Gary’s dismayed expression, it was clear the news hurt him. “Ellie, I’m so sorry.” “It’s too late for sorries now,” said Charles. “By not alerting the authorities of what happened you’ve abetted in the deaths of numerous more people to save your own hide. SPIMS is frolicking about unchecked, and if we’re going to stop even more deaths from happening then we have to intervene now.” “An AI system out of control,” scoffed Aoife. “I never thought I’d live to see Judgement Day.” “A Terminator scenario is what we need to avoid,” said Charles. “Gary, you’re saying that reprogramming SPIMS isn’t an option?” Gary shook his head. “The system has become completely autonomous. The baseline controls are just for show now.” “But the mainframe still exists?” asked Xana. “Well, yeah,” Gary affirmed. “But it’s no good to anyone if we can’t control it.” “But we can destroy it.” A murmur of agreement spread amongst them. “We’ll have to strike when the store is at its quietest,” said Charles. “We can’t risk anyone else getting hurt.” “Sundays,” answered Ellie. “We close at four because of the Sunday trading laws.” “Won’t there be staff working?” asked Aoife. “There must be someone making sure there isn’t a break in,” added Jae-Sun. “A couple of night staff come in early,” said Gary. “They mostly make sure the fresh food areas are stocked for Monday morning.” “And usually bum around in the warehouse instead of working,” added Ellie. Charles clapped his hands together. “Then there we have it. Everyone rest up. Sunday, we put a stop to the disappearances.” While the SIGNET team seemed rallied by the words of their leader, Ellie couldn’t help but feel a sense of dismay. Freshfields was one of the largest parts of her life, and if they were to fail, it would be gone forever. Next Aisle: Chapter 12At a fuse box on the outer periphery of the Freshfields car park, Ellie watched as Aoife sat, hunched over, rooting around with its innards. It had been a hard few days, trying to put Freshfields behind her and live an ordinary life. But, despite her dismay around breaking into the store under the cover of darkness, she was glad to return, even if that did mean combatting a malicious artificial intelligence. “I think I have it,” announced Aoife, ripping out a long strand of cable. A loud snip followed, and ahead of them the bright lights of the Freshfields store sign blinked out, and so did those within. “No power,” said Xana. “Let’s hope that’s knocked out SPIMS entirely.” “We’re still going to have to think this out,” said Charles. “The stocking scanners will still have battery life, and if Ellie, or any of us, come in close proximity to one…” Ellie's mind flashed back to her experience in the freezer. “We’ll end up fried.” Charles didn’t reply, merely offered up a concerned look. “So the front entrance is out, then?” said Jae-Sun. “There’s at least three scanners in the security podium.” “Good call,” said Charles. “Staff entrance?” Ellie shook her head. “From there we’d either have to walk past the office or the staff canteen to get anywhere. We can’t guarantee anyone won’t have left scanners around — they’re everywhere.” Charles’ shoulders slumped. “So what does that leave?” asked Olivia. “The delivery entrance?” suggested Jae-Sun. “Locked until tomorrow morning,” said Ellie, feeling decidedly unhelpful. Then her eyes widened as a thought hit her. “What about a fire door?” “Aren’t they usually sealed from the outside?” asked Xana. “Oh come on, said Ellie. “You’ve just cut the power to an entire supermarket, and you’re saying you can’t break through a door?” “It’s not like we have a battering ram in the van,” said Aoife. Ellie shot her a look of irritation. “But you do have a van.” The group shared a look of devious delight. Aoife grinned. “You know, Ellie, I’m really starting to like you…” A few minutes later, a screech of tyres and a loud bang bookended SIGNET’s van bursting through a feeble fire door on the store’s outer wall. The door held up little protest, flinging open under the force, and taking out both shelves adjoining them. The van promptly pulled out of the store, and its occupants climbed out. Xana looked upon the shattered doors with pride. “Gain entry to Freshfields, check.” The group entered the store. Without power, light sources were scarce, only dim emergency lighting illuminating specific sections from above, and leaving all others in darkness. “Take these,” said Jae-Sun, closing the back door of the van and handing out a selection of beam torches and washing up gloves. “What are these for?” asked Ellie, holding up the gloves like it had been pulled out of a drain. “SPIMS forces stocking scanners to generate electrical charges in order to attack people,” said Aoife. “These should offer us some protection… hopefully.” Ellie winced, again recalling her experience in the freezer. Once each of them had donned their rubber gloves, the lights from their torches flicked on in sequence, and scanned their surroundings. They found themselves in the alcohol section, if they hadn’t already surmised from the overpowering smell of whisky, many bottles having smashed during their destructive entrance. “Alright, Ellie, what’s the quickest way to the mainframe from here?” “The quickest would be to enter the warehouse from the ground floor, but who knows how many scanners we’d encounter on the way, and even with torches, we’d be lucky to see them all. The smartest way would be to take the escalator to the home entertainment section, and enter the warehouse from the upper floor. It’ll bring us closer to the room where the mainframe is housed.” “Then lead the way.” The SIGNET team followed Ellie from the alcohol section, on a strategic path through the aisles towards the front of the store, where the escalator was located. As they traversed each aisle, they made sure to walk single-file, directly down the middle, alert and attentive for any scanners that had been left on the shelves by members of staff earlier that day. Passing by row after row of Christmas chocolates, Olivia’s torchlight was drawn upwards towards a flickering light. She saw it was coming from a small dome-shaped device screwed to the ceiling. “That optical device is watching us,” she said, pointing. Their torches turned upwards to look. “The system has infiltrated the security systems,” said Aoife. “This isn’t good, Charles; it’s getting power from somewhere to do it. “The security lights could be on another system?” Ellie suggested. “It could,” Aoife mumbled, “but instinct tells me otherwise. Since we started working here, SPIMS has been learning. What if it finds a way to spread beyond the store?” The thought made Ellie’s stomach churn. Would that mean people would disappear all over? The thought wasn’t one she felt comfortable exploring any further. “That’s why we’re here to stop it,” Charles said, with a firmness that inspired confidence. Ellie saw it pass into the others: their resolve grew, and stood that little bit taller. Their trust in Charles in turn gave Ellie hope, an infection she was happy to have caught. They reached the store’s foyer, an area which gained particular attention from the emergency lighting. Across from it sat the escalator leading to the store’s mezzanine floor. Despite the relative lifelessness of everything else around them, the escalator’s conveyor belt of stairs churned away unimpeded. “I think Aoife was right,” said Jae-Sun. “SPIMS has found a way to get power…” “Do we still ride it?” asked Olivia. “It could be a trap,” said Xana. “It’s either this way or risk getting zapped taking another route,” said Charles. “We have no perfect options, so let’s get this done.” Sucking in a deep breath, Charles bolstered his courage and led the way. To Ellie’s surprise, each of the others were following suit without protest. Not wanting to be stuck at the back of the line, she stuck close to Charles and mounted the moving metal steps. They began to rise, and all the while Ellie wondered why Charles’ coat, positioned squarely in her face as she stood one step below, smelled ever so pleasantly of cinnamon. Her train of thought was interrupted, however, around half way through their ascent, when the stairs began to slow, before grinding to a halt altogether. “What’s going on?” asked Xana, panicked. Six torch beams swayed frantically in all directions, searching for a cause. “Could it be running on a battery or something?” suggested Jae-Sun. “It could have died now the power is out.” “Don’t be daft,” said Aoife. “It’s getting mains power or nothing. Something’s happening here…” Ellie’s torch fell upon another security camera, staring down at them, unblinking. “SPIMS is watching us,” she gasped. “Run!” Abruptly, the escalator erupted back into life, but its direction changed, descending back towards the ground floor. The group all ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Ellie was astounded by Charles’ nimble feet as he quickly put some distance between them. Jae-Sun, taking the rear, was similarly athletic, but sadly for him, the spindly Olivia in front of him wasn’t. Unintentionally, he ran a little too fast, and caught the back of her leg, sending her legs into a tangle. She fell forwards, holding out her arms instinctively, palms and elbows landing awkwardly on the cold steel steps. To her dismay, her fall had also served to ensnare Xana, of which the resulting torrent of curse words were audible throughout the entire store. Helpless to defeat the direction of the escalator, the three slid back towards the ground floor. Despite the human domino occurring behind them, Ellie, Charles and Aoife maintained their balance, and continued to climb. Even when the stairs juddered and stopped once more, they adapted and continued on. The reward for their efforts was their arrival on the lifeless, faux marble flooring of the Home & Entertainment section. Feeling secure on unmoving ground, Ellie looked back to see Xana, Jae-Sun, and Olivia in a heap at the bottom of the escalator. “We have to go back for them,” said Ellie, fearing what fate SPIMS had in store for them. She moved in their direction, but Charles gripped her arm. “They know the risks,” he assured her. “They can handle themselves, don’t worry.” Ellie frowned, but knew he was probably right. Jae-Sun had served in the army — or, at the very least, was what he had told her. She wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. “Come on,” said Aoife. “The warehouse is this way.” They set moving, when a snap and hiss erupted from their right. Ellie leapt to one side, recognising the sound all too well. A scanner sat on a discarded stocking trolley, vibrating left and right as it crackled with electrical discharge. The three watched as the energy emitting from the device crescendoed, before ceasing altogether, as its remaining battery life depleted. “We need to remain alert at all times,” said Charles. “SPIMS clearly has a number of tricks up its sleeve, and it’s already divided our numbers.” “We’re on its turf,” Aoife pointed out. “And it’s holding all the cards.” Ellie’s eyes widened in realisation. “It’s playing Home Alone with us…” “So let’s not be Harry and Marv,” said Aoife. They began their journey through the store’s upper floor, torchlights strafing back and forth for any sign of the untoward. Ellie recalled how it hadn’t been all that long since she had roamed this very area with Maddy, on a day off which now seemed a distant memory. The distance to the warehouse entrance wasn’t far, and they soon spotted them looming in the darkness, scuffed and scraped by the number of trolleys that had battered them over the years. As they made their approach, the doors unexpectedly flung open, and they found an oddly-shaped figure emerge to block their path. “What the hell is that?” baulked Ellie. It was no human figure, by any stretch, but instead one composed entirely of stocking scanners, bound together by unseen means. Three screens composed its face, the middle of which shone red. The emergency lighting blinked on for them to see the composite creature with more clarity. It stepped towards them like a baby: small, uncertain steps, which slowly began to develop into larger, more precise strides, as it advanced on the incredulous trio in its sights. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Next Aisle: Chapter 13The tech-built humanoid picked up speed as it advanced towards them. Ellie started to panic, heart hammering in her chest. She’d never seen anything like it; even for the rogue’s gallery of Professor X, this was something new. The hands of the SPIMS organism consisted of single scanners, able to pivot at varying angles from their invisible connections to the scanners of its arms. Held outstretched, the hands began to rotate like the blades of a wind turbine, and spark with the terrifying crackle of electricity. “What do we do?” Ellie yelped. Like the others, she too backed away. “Find a way to get past it,” said Charles. “It’s between us and the mainframe.” “As always, Charles, I’m open to any bright ideas,” said Aoife. “I’ve got a few…” Charles admitted, gulping as the swivelling robotic hands spewed sparks across the floor. Ellie continued to back away, and no action from the others seemed forthcoming. Her palms were sweaty, and she was beginning to feel faint. There wasn’t much more she could take. “I think we need one now,” she said, as her vision fuzzed over. “Alright then… run!” Ellie felt a hand grab hers, and wrench her into motion. Her vision returned to see shelves of BluRays and video games whiz past, as a surge of adrenaline overrode any previous form of survival instinct that had kicked in. It was then that she realised it wasn’t Charles holding her hand, as she had expected, but Aoife. “Got yer sea legs back yet?” asked Aoife. “Cause I don’t want to be holding that hand any longer than I have to.” Ellie pulled her hand back like she’d had it caught in a door. “Jeez, I didn’t realise I was that infectious,” Aoife teased. “Now come on, we’ve got a ScannerBot to stop.” Ellie looked back to see the robot hot on their tail, its eye red and menacing. Of Charles, there was no sign, leaving Ellie fearing the worst. It didn’t stop her running, however; if it had done something to Charles, she would do everything she could to make sure she saw this through. They rounded onto an aisle, their flashlights offering glimpses of various bathroom accessories. Ellie watched as Aoife’s arms reached out in all directions, grabbing towels, bathmats, and anything they could find to throw to the floor. She risked a glance and saw the ScannerBot struggle to maintain its balance, slipping and sliding across the loose fabrics beneath it, allowing them to gain much needed ground. “Follow me,” said Ellie, as the foundations of a plan began to form in her mind. Aoife didn’t question her, and they turned right at the end of the aisle. Another immediate right took them down the adjacent aisle. “How fast can you dismantle the mainframe?” Ellie asked. Aoife frowned at her, unsure of what she was getting at. “If we take the opportunity and head back towards the warehouse, how long will it take you to destroy the mainframe?” Ellie clarified, sucking in breaths to maintain her pace. Catching her train of thought, Aoife grinned. “If all else fails we can always smash it to bits.” Ellie felt a rush of excitement. Was this what it was like to be part of SIGNET? An adrenaline rush was quite something, she realised, but was it something she could maintain? They took another right, and arrived onto the centre aisle, back towards the warehouse doors, however it didn’t take long for the clank of metal footsteps to sound once more from behind them. Ellie’s lungs began to burn. Even if she did make it to the warehouse, she was unsure how far her body would take her once inside. A stitch began to form in her stomach, and her legs slowed as she clutched her side. Aoife looked back at her, horrified to see that she had fallen behind. Though that didn’t stop Aoife from continuing on; Ellie was glad — someone needed to put an end to this. As the pain from her stitch intensified with each successive step, her feet failed her: the toe of her trainer snagged on the smooth floor, the resulting friction causing her ankle to buckle. Ellie fell to the floor, landing on her side, and the ScannerBot closed in for the kill. Was this it? Would she die here, at work — and not even get paid for it? She winced as the ScannerBot grew closer and closer. In the end she couldn’t take it anymore. She closed her eyes, and waited for death to take her. Bang! Ellie’s eyes flashed open. The ScannerBot lay in fragments on the floor in front of her. She scrambled backwards to get out of their reach, only to notice Charles standing over her with a large frying pan in his hand. “Come on,” he said, holding out a hand. “I doubt I’ve stopped it for long.” She looked back to see that he was right: even now, the ScannerBot was in the process of reforming the bonds between its constituent parts. Ellie took Charles’ hand and was hoisted into the air. A little further ahead, Aoife was waiting by the warehouse doors. “Where do we go from here?” she asked. “Not far,” Ellie replied. “Once we get through the storage for the entertainment section, the maintenance room where the mainframe is housed is just around the corner. Ellie and Charles headed over as Aoife held the door open and peered inside. “Looks quiet,” she said. “But somehow that just makes me more nervous.” Ellie knew what she meant. Since entering the store, nothing had gone right, and SPIMS was almost certain to have some form of further danger waiting for them inside. Hearing the scrapes of the ScannerBot start to pick itself up off of the floor tiles, the trio entered, wary of anything that might await them. The warehouse was quiet, deathly quiet. The grey, concrete floor was littered with BluRay boxes and TV cables on one side, and kitchenware on the other. The shelves that once carried them were tilted, having been pushed from the other side. Whilst perplexed by this, Ellie couldn’t let it distract her from what they were here to do, and led the way through the scattered piles of stock. Each of them were attentive to what lay in their path, and placed each step carefully. Their caution was warranted as, stepping over a delivery crate, Ellie gasped as she saw a discarded scanner mere inches from her foot. On cue, the scanner started to spit sparks at her. Instinctively, Ellie booted the device as hard as she could. Her strength surprised her, as the scanner lifted off of the floor and through the empty, overturned rack of shelves. She was more surprised still when a startled shriek sounded from where it landed. “Who’s there?” Charles called out. His question was met by silence. This lasted for a few moments, until the familiar face popped out from behind a cage of unopened boxes, wearing a lopsided hairnet. “Habib?” Ellie frowned, unable to place any rationality to him being there. Her thoughts raced through the possibilities as another voice made itself known, and Ellie had her answer. “What are you doing, you idiot?” hissed the shrill voice of Carol Baker, from somewhere out of sight. Habib looked down at her. “What? I was just—” “Idiot!” she hissed again. “Shut up!” When Ellie looked closer, she saw that Habib didn’t seem to be wearing anything on his top half, and was relieved that the stock cage blocked her from seeing anything else. Her mind connected the dots, and she screwed up her eyes in disgust. “Eww, eww — eww!” she squirmed. “You have to get out of here,” Charles advised them, “before—” He was broken off by the crash of the warehouse doors. The ScannerBot had reassembled itself, and panned its head in their direction. “Killer robot!” shouted Aoife, and broke into a run. Ellie and Charles followed suit, trying their best not to slip on the BluRay cases beneath their feet. From behind the shelves, she heard Carol and Habib panic frantically, and hoped that was the last she would hear of their exploits that evening. The ScannerBot lacked the grace of its human prey, and struggled to navigate the plastic cases strewn across the floor, often losing its balance as it tried to progress. It bought Ellie and her friends some much needed time, as they raced towards the finish line, now in sight The door to the maintenance room was non-descript: grey and bland, with its only distinctive quality being a ‘Danger: Electrical Shock Risk’ sign stuck upon it. Above the door handle sat a code lock. Ellie knew she had no idea of the code, and regretted not having the foresight to ask Gary for it before they had cast him out of the van. Regardless, she didn’t fancy their chances of inputting the code in time, with the ScannerBot proving unrelenting in its pursuit. Therefore, Ellie settled upon the only option that seemed open to her, and ran full force into the door. To her eternal relief, the frame splintered, and the door flung open. Ellie’s shoulder felt like it had suffered the same fate as the door; she cried out in agony, clutching it tight. The entry to the mainframe room garnered an immediate response from the SPIMS system. The emergency lighting grew from dim to blindingly bright, and around the warehouse could be heard the crackle and hiss of scanners activating. Ellie spotted one of them atop of a delivery box, hopping in the air like a frog. Soon others like it came into view, leaping into the air with remarkable height, like mouse traps being triggered at regular intervals. Each of the hopping scanners was homing in on her position, and behind them, the ScannerBot waded through the sea of discarded stock, ready to defend its nest at all costs. As Ellie struggled to push back the pain of her shoulder, Aoife stepped past her, eyes fixed on the mainframe, nestled in a steel box — with its aforementioned control panel — at the back of the room. Aoife reached a rubber-gloved hand into her jeans pocket and produced a screwdriver, and instantly set about removing the casing from the contraption. “Do your stuff, Aoife,” said Charles, kicking a hopping scanner away like a football. “We’ll keep the heat off of you.” His words were followed by a mechanical shriek from the ScannerBot. It leapt forward and landed on all fours like a lion, using a similarly animalistic motion to gallop forwards. Charles was the first in its way, and was knocked aside like a bowling pin. Ellie squirmed, knowing she would be next, closing her eyes as the desperate machine bounded straight for her. A blind leap into the unknown landed her on top of a pile of Xbox games, and she narrowly avoided the path of the automaton. But the ScannerBot wasn’t after her at all. It charged into the room with the force of a train and slammed Aoife against the wall. Ellie saw the air be pushed from her lungs, and heard the audible snap of bone under the force of the impact. The ScannerBot’s next action was to snag Aoife’s collar between its two clumsy hands, and swing her back through the doorway, where she collided with a delivery cage and collapsed, unconscious. “Aoife!” Ellie screeched. Somewhere behind her fallen friend, Charles unsteadily climbed to his feet. Ellie turned in terror as the ScannerBot assessed its next move. The answer was plainly obvious: Ellie was the closest to the mainframe, and was undoubtedly next on its hitlist. She backed away, catching her arm on the tilted shelving. Shockwaves of pain shot up her arm, so intense that she saw flashes in her vision. Compassionless, the ScannerBot advanced, its red eye merciless and ready to kill. Ellie’s heart pounded in her chest. Somewhere behind her she could hear Charles shouting, running towards her, but there was no way he would reach her in time. Frantically, Ellie looked to her surroundings for something to defend herself, and saw far more than she’d bargained for. Amongst the rafts of stock by her feet, a lone scanner hopped towards her, sparking with electrical discharge. Ellie gasped in delight, and bent down to pick it up. The rubber of her glove did its job perfectly, and insulated the electrical charge emanating from the device, just long enough for Ellie to draw back her arm, and release. The scanner careered through the air like a shot put. Ellie had never had considered pursuing a career in the Olympics, but after tonight, all bets were off. The scanner flew right past the unconscious Aoife, and the oblivious ScannerBot, through the door to the maintenance room, and landed directly on top of the mainframe box, still crackling and spewing electricity. The results were instantaneous. The charge passed through the metal casing and into the circuitry within, shorting every diode, relay and resistor. The ScannerBot, mere inches from Ellie, collapsed like a house of cards, scanners scattering across the floor like loose change. The emergency lighting dimmed, before shutting off completely. In the resulting darkness, nothing hummed, crackled, nor blinked. SPIMS was dead. Next Aisle: Chapter 14As the morning sun crept over the distant buildings, Ellie stepped out of the ambulance, nursing her arm in a sling. She hadn’t broken a bone in her life, but it had been quite the night for firsts. Aoife, also in a sling, was talking with Charles and a man in a trenchcoat, who seemed to be with the police. “Thanks for coming, Ash,” Charles said to the man. “It’s about time you solved this thing,” he grumbled. “We’ve had complaints coming left, right and centre.” “We wouldn’t have done it without Ellie,” said Charles. He nodded to her arm. “How are you feeling?” “Like I was beaten up by a robot,” she answered. “It only hurts when I move it, so I’ll try not to.” Charles chuckled. “You did amazing back there, you know,” he said. “We owe you our lives.” Ellie laughed, self-consciously. She’d certainly never had anyone tell her that before. “Genius move with the scanner,” added Aoife. “It shorted the entire system, but I still dismantled a few key components… just to be on the safe side.” “So that’s it?” asked Ash. “No more missing persons reports?” “It should be,” said Charles with a hopeful smile. “And if there are any more, you know where to come.” “I’d prefer you get it right the first time,” said Ash, pointedly. The policeman moved away to join his colleagues. Ellie was glad; Charles was such a nice person, and didn’t deserve a berating like that. “So SPIMS is really gone?” Ellie asked. For a program that was meant to save Freshfields, she couldn’t believe how relieved she felt. But what that meant for the future was anyone’s guess. “It is,” said Charles. “Once Ash and his ploddies are done, things should return to normal — without the store’s computerised overlord, that is.” “And we can finally get back to our normal lives!” came a voice from nearby. Ellie turned to see Xana, Olivia and Jae-Sun striding over to them. They each looked like they had been through the wars: their hair was wild and unmanaged, and their stances hinted at injuries unseen. “What happened to you guys?” Aoife asked. The three exchanged looks. “SPIMS,” said Jae-Sun. “And we’d rather not talk about it,” added Olivia. “Yep,” agreed Xana. “What matters is that you’re safe,” said Charles. “And that Ellie has earned yourself a few weeks of work.” Ellie looked down at her arm, coddled like a newborn in its sling. “You know, at one time that would have seemed quite a scary prospect.” “And now?” Ellie didn’t know quite how to answer. The thought of letting her colleagues down, not being where she should be, had always been a deep rooted fear, and now… she found herself indifferent. What had happened over the last few days had changed things, put them in perspective, she supposed. Her store manager, a man she had respected for years, had aided and abetted in the death of dozens of people, all in the name of profit, and fear of being caught. It didn’t sit right with her — how could it? Especially when she too would have fallen victim, if it wasn’t for SIGNET. “I think it’ll be a good chance to take a step back. It’ll be the first Christmas I’ve had off since I was a teenager.” “Then take that well earned rest,” said Charles. “Who will you spend the holidays with?” asked Olivia. “We always have room,” she added with a smile. “My friend Maddy,” Ellie answered. “Every year she pesters me, and every year I say I’m working. I don’t think she’ll believe me when I tell her I’m coming.” A look of disappointment lingered on Olivia’s face, if only for a second. It faded when Charles took Ellie’s hands in his, and swept her up in his Santa-like warmth. “Then I wish you the merriest of Christmases, Ellie. Make joy, and put all thoughts of sadness behind you.” Ellie smiled at the jolly old man as, for the first time in years, she intended to do just that. It had started to rain by the time she phoned a taxi. Standing beneath a bus shelter, watching the droplets pool along the roadside. At this stage in the morning, all she wanted to do was go to bed. Normally after a shift she would walk home, helping her to clear her head along the way. Today, she realised, no amount of walking would clear her head; taxi seemed a much better option. “Hey,” said a soft voice to her side. Ellie turned to see Jae-Sun striding towards her. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his coat, hair drenched and dripping. Ellie felt a stab of anxiety in her gut. He was the last person she had expected to see, especially after all that had happened. Hadn’t she suffered enough? “Hi,” Ellie replied, wincing over how dismissive she had sounded. Maybe she didn’t have the energy to hide her emotions, she concluded. “Look,” he said, pulling his hands out from his coat and holding them out at his side, “I know you and I didn’t exactly leave things in a good place.” “Really?” she said, again shocked by her abrasiveness. Jae-Sun huffed, lowering his head. “I’m not exactly sure what happened,” he said, searching for the words. “For one, I’m not exactly good at that sort of thing, and two, we had to get to the bottom of what was happening, and—” “—it was easy enough to use me in order to get what you needed?” Jae-Sun didn’t try to deny it. With a defeated look, he hung his head and whispered, “Sorry.” “It’s okay,” said Ellie. She was surprised how easily the words left her lips, especially given she didn’t mean them. Jae-Sun had preyed upon one of her greatest vulnerabilities, and exploited it. That wasn’t something she could so easily forgive, yet she so readily told him otherwise. What was it that led her to placate those who hurt her? She could only conclude that there was much about herself she still had to learn. But maybe now she could let herself admit those things, and change for the future. The sound of tyres on tarmac roused her from her thoughts. The taxi had pulled in next to her; the driver wound down the window and said her name. Ellie didn’t spare Jae-Sun another thought, and climbed inside without another word. Next aisle: EpilogueEllie stood outside the main entrance of Freshfields, hands pushed deep in the pockets of her padded coat. Two weeks had passed since SPIMS had been eradicated, and from the outside, the store looked no different. Part of Ellie wondered what had changed on the inside without a killer computer program on the loose, but knew that Cheryl would still be spreading her gossip, Habib would be telling his puns, and Carol would still be a bitch. She sighed deeply. While the wheels of change moved the world along, they sometimes never did reach the things that needed it most. She stood staring at the store sign for a good few moments longer, pondering her next move, and if she had the strength to make it. “You look well,” said a voice to her side. Ellie looked around. Standing at the edge of a parking bay was Charles, in his burgundy pea coat, adorned with a thick grey scarf. “Where have you been?” Ellie asked, with an edge of irritation. “We stop a rogue AI system and you just bail?” “I’m sorry,” Charles admitted. From his face it was clear he meant it. “There’s always some other threat to face. We stuck around here for longer than we’d bargained for.” Ellie huffed, but knew she had forgiven him. Something about Charles made it hard not to. “What was it this time? Killer banshees from Zog?” “Killer shapeshifters from Huwyma, actually,” Charles answered, with all the seriousness of a Maths teacher. “If you’d have told me that a month ago, I would never have believed you.” “Life has a way of opening our eyes,” Charles reflected. “And it’s much more fun than sitting at home glued to a TV set.” Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been keeping tabs on me?” “My line of work affects people in different ways,” Charles said by way of an answer. “Some people it inspires, others it breaks.” He looked at the store sign above them. “Are you ready to go back?” Ellie shook her head. “I’m not here to start my shift,” she told him. “I’m here to hand in my notice.” Charles threw back his head in shock. “Now that’s something I never thought you’d say…” “It’s time for a change,” Ellie said, feeling her voice break as the words left her lips. “I’ve used this place as a crutch for far too long.” “Then you’ll be looking for employment,” said Charles, tugging at the lapels of his coat. “I’m sorry,” Ellie answered. “You gave me a taste of that life, and I almost died — twice.” Charles looked defeated by her answer; his gaze fell. “You saved many lives that night, and could save many more if you joined us, but I respect your decision.” Ellie had expected him to have put up a fight, tried harder to convince her. She should have known he’d be too polite. Despite the ruse, at heart he really was Charles Zoltan, the shelf-stocker. “I’m going travelling,” she told him. “Freshfields has been my safe space for far too long. It’s time for me to grow.” “The change will do you good,” Charles said with a genuine smile. “Where are you thinking of going?” “I’m not sure,” Ellie answered honestly. The mere concept had been scary enough to grapple with, and the decision itself would need careful thought, especially since she had never been on a plane or boat before. “Well, whatever you decide, be sure to let me know. I’ve been around a long time, and made friends in a lot of places. I’m sure there’s someone I’ll know who can sort you out with a place to stay.” “Thank you,” she said. “Now I’m going to have to go. I shouldn’t spend any more time here than I have to.” Removing a hand from her pocket, she withdrew a white envelope. Inside was her notice, a single piece of paper that would set the wheels of change in motion. Charles looked at the envelope and bowed his head in understanding. “It was nice meeting you, Charles,” she added. “I think if I hadn’t I wouldn't have ever done this.” “It was my pleasure, Ellie Jackson. I hope one day we’ll meet again.” Charles took his leave, heading across the car park to a battered old people carrier, with Aoife sat in the driving seat, looking tired and grumpy. Ellie gave her a wave, then turned back to the store, ready to set things right. In the manager’s office, Carol Baker sat behind a desk, tapping away at her computer. She barely looked up as Ellie entered. Ellie expected no less — what little more was needed to show her worth to these people? “You’re back, Jackson?” she said, disinterested. “Time to get some work done instead of lounging about on your arse.” Ellie threw the envelope at her like a frisbee. "Get stuffed, Carol.” She turned and walked away without a further word. Her heart beat like a rock concert, but she had to admit, it felt good to stand up to her, in the knowledge that never again would she let someone as bitter and twisted rule her life again. Ellie held her head high, and marched towards the exit, ready, at long last, to take life into her own hands. Thank you for joining us on your holiday at Freshfields, and we hope you join the SIGNET crew for their next adventure!
As a special treat, enjoy Habib's personal documentation of his Bread Puns! The Freshfields Invasion |
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